Means and method for facilitating driving piles



March 1954 J. B. TEMPLETON MEANS AND METHOD FOR FACILITATING DRIVING FILES Filed Nov 13, 1950 JOHN B. TEMPLETON INVENTOR.

BY m z 22 A TTORNE Y Patented Mar. 30, 1954 MEANS AND METHOD FOR FACILITATING DRIVING PILES John B. Templeton, Dallas, Tex.

Application November 13, 1950, Serial No. 195,252

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to a means and method for facilitating the driving of piles and more particularly to a means and method for lubricating the surfaces of piles as they are driven through earth formations.

In order to drive a pile through earth formations, the friction between penetrated formations and the surfaces of the pile within the penetrated formations, as well as the resistance of the earth formation to further penetration by the point or shoe at the lower end of the pile, must be overcome by the driving force applied to the upper end of the pile. As the pile is driven, the length of the pile within the formation is progressively increased, resulting in a constantly progressive increase in the friction between the surfaces of the pile and the penetrated formations as greater areas of the surfaces of the pile come into contact with the penetrated formations. It is found that a releatively great proportion of the driving force is expended in overcoming this friction, the proportion increasing as the length of the pile within penetrated formations increases. It has been discovered that the driving of piles can be greatly facilitated, and the expenditure of labor and time'greatly reduced, if the friction is decreased by introducing a lubricant between the penetrated formations and the surfaces of the pile within such formations.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved means for facilitating the driving of piles.

It is another object of the invention to provide a new and improved method for driving piles.

A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved means for lubricating the earth contacting surfaces of the pile.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved method for reducing the friction between penetrated formations and the surfaces of the pile.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a new and improved means for introducing a lubricant adjacent the point of a driven pile to decrease the friction between penetrated formations and the surfaces of the pile.

Briefly stated, the new and improved method for driving piles comprises the introduction of a liquid lubricant under pressure into the cavity formed by, and immediately above, a pile shoe or point afiixed to the lower end of a pile of any structural shape. The lubricant coats or impregnates the earth adjacent the point and, being under pressure, tends to flow upwardly between the surfaces of the pile and the penetrated formations so as to decrease the friction between the surfaces of the pile and the penetrated formations. The new and improved means for facilitating the driving of piles comprises a conduit rigidly secured to the central portion of an elongated pile and which extends substantially the length of the pile and ends adjacent the pile shoe or point. The open lower end of the conduit is disposed in an aperture provided in the pile adjacent the point. The upper end of the conduit is connected to a supply of fluid lubricant and a pumping means is provided to force lubricant from the supply through the conduit and into the cavity formed in the earth formation by and immediately above the pile point.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent from the reading of the following description of a device constructed in accordance with the invention, and reference to the accompanying drawings thereof, wherein:

Figure l is a perspective view of a pile provided with the lubricating means of the invention and showing the pumping means in side elevation,

Figure 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional View of the pile of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a portion of the lower end of the pileof Figure l in position in an earth formation, and

Figure 4 is an enlarged elevational view of the lower end of the pile of Figure 1.

In the drawing, the numeral Hi designates an elongate pile which is shown to be of conventional H shape and comprises a pair of spaced parallel flanges I l and 12 connected by a web it. The lower end of the pile is provided with a shoe or point M, which is shown to be in three sections but which may also be an integral H- cutting edge I6 so that any portion of the shoe is substantially wedge-shaped in cross-section.

Rigidly secured to the web of the pile, by means of a plurality of spaced clips or straps I9, is a pipe or conduit 20 which extends substantially the length of the pile. The straps may be secured to the web by welding or by any other conventional means. The lower end 2| of the conduit is bent inwardly and extends into a slot 22 provided in the lower end of the web. The upper end of the conduit may be threaded to engage the coupling 23 on one end of a flexible conduit 24 whose other end is coupled to the outlet 25 of a pump 26.

The pump has an inlet 21 which may be connected to any suitable supply of fluid lubricant. The pump illustrated is normally operated by means of a handle 28, but if desired, any suitable conventional motor-operated pump may be employed. A gage 29 may be connected to the outlet of the pump to indicate the pressure of the lubricant in the conduit.

In use, the shoe I, being wedge-shaped, displaces the earth as it travels through the earth formations 30. The displaced earth tends to press back against the surfaces of the pile after the shoe passes, but since the upper portion of the shoe is thicker in cross-section than flanges II and I2 and the web l3 of the pile, there is formed immediately above the shoe a pocket or cavity 31 which extends completely around the adjacent lower portion of the pile. The slot 22 in the lower end of the Web communicates with the cavity, and a suitable lubricant, such as oil or soapy water, is introduced into the cavity through the slot in the lower open end 2i of the conduit. The lubricant is kept under pressure by means of the pump 26, so that the cavity is kept full of lubricant at all times.

The lubricant comes in contact with and im pregnates the displaced earth adjacent the cavity 3!, and this lubricated earth later falls or is forced into contact with the surfaces of the pile as the pile is driven further into the earth formation. As a result, earth which is coated or impregnated with the lubricant comes into contact with the surfaces of the flanges H and I2 and the web 13 of the pile as it is driven through the earth formation. Moreover, the lubricant tends to flow upwardly along the outer surfaces of the pile, as the lubricant is constantly kept under pressure. Thus, the friction between the earth formations and the surfaces of the pile is reduced by the presence of the lubricant in the earth and on the surfaces of the pile. Since the lubricant in the cavity 3| is under relatively high pressure, some of it may perhaps be forced beneath the shoe [4 to the cutting edge l6, and may there reduce the friction between the shoe and the earth as the shoe is forced through the earth formation.

The reduction of the friction between the surfaces of the pile and the shoe and the earth formation 36, through which they travel as the pile is driven, enables the pile to be driven more readily and more quickly, and results in appreciable economies in the expenditure of labor and time.

The lower end 2| of the conduit 20 being disposed in the slot 22 of the web of the pile, is protected from contact with the earth formation 30 and is not likely to be clogged by earth. Furthermore, the pressure of the lubricant in the conduit will resist entry of earth into the conduit. The slot 22 also serves to insure a suppl of lubricant on both sides of the web.

This means and method for facilitating the driving of piles is illustrated as applied to a pile of H-section, but it will be readily apparent that they may be applied to piles of various shapes.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory only, and changes in the details of the construction illustrated may be made by those skilled in the art, within the scope of the appended claim, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In combination with a pile of H-section having parallel side members connected by a web and upper and lower ends and being of the type driven through earth formations by driving blows delivered to the upper end thereof, a shoe on the lower end of the pile having a configuration conforming to the configuration of such lower end of the pile and having a lower cutting, edge and sides spaced outwardly from the sides of the pile, the lower end of said pile having an aperture formed therein extending between opposite sides of the pile immediately above and adjacent the upper end of the shoe, a conduit extending along and secured to said pile and having an upper end disposed adjacent and spaced from the upper end of said pile and a lower end disposed within and opening into said aperture at a point immediately above and adjacent the shoe, said pile being drivable into earth formations by blows on its upper end, said conduit, aperture and shoe providing means for introducing a lubricant to the earth formation and exterior of the pile immediately adjacent and surrounding the lower end of the pile to impregnate and coat the formation adjacent the pile. 

